Fighting inflation on a fixed income: These Calgary residents use faith, friends and a free breakfast
CBC
A senior celebrating his "magnificent" free breakfast, a single-mom who says only faith in God keeps her from going crazy, and a monk hoping for a raise on his disability stipend.
These Calgarians are among hundreds of thousands of Albertans who are trying to cope on small incomes as inflation hits an 18-year high in Canada.
According to government figures, more than 280,000 people in Alberta receive provincial stipends, either because they are low-income seniors, have a disability or are struggling to find work.
This support is no longer tied to the cost of living since indexing was paused in 2019.
Many others work low-wage jobs where pay has not increased to match the increased cost of gas, food and utilities.
CBC Calgary spoke with four people in these situations to get a read on how they're doing. Here are their stories.
Frank McLoone visits The Alex Community Food Centre for a free breakfast every Friday morning, wowed by the quality and effort put in by the volunteers and red seal chef.
"Roast zucchini and onion with a hint of ginger," he reads on the menu board and grins.
"These places find us. It's magnificent."
McLoone, who is in his 70s, has no private pension, only what the government provides. But with free breakfasts and events such as the recent free city festival in nearby Valleyview Park, he says he's thriving.
The reason, he says, is subsidized housing.
"There's an equation attached to our income that is so attractive to help us thrive. It would be fabulous if that same equation could be attached to young families who are paying exorbitant rents and huge, huge mortgages," said McLoone.
"At the instruction of the Alberta government, (the housing provider) looks at our total income from our tax return on Line 150. And for housing, they take a third of our total income and give us two-thirds as disposable income."
Rita Abraham works in housekeeping at a local hospital. But despite working for almost a decade, she still gets only part-time hours. That means paying the bills is tough.
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